Happy New Year to One and All
PHILADELPHIA, PA 12/31/2022 –
Let’s call it a start and a finish. The La Salle Explorers hosted the Saint Joseph’s Hawks in women’s basketball. The teams raised the curtain on their Atlantic 10 play, and it was the last Women’s Big Five game of the 2022-23 season. On New Year’s Eve. Start; this game is the first time that these city rivals have played each other in their first seasonal Atlantic 10 game. Finish; they wrap up the Big Five prior to the new year.
On to the game that Saint Joseph’s wins 68 – 64.
A typical Big Five game. Each team took leads, and no lead was big enough. The game came down to the wire, and had a little surprise at the end.
The Ending
La Salle tied the game at 59 with just under four minutes to go. Saint Joseph’s held a one-point lead late. The key play that gave the Hawks a measure of control was at the 1:47 mark when guard Katie Jekot inbounded the ball under their basket to a cutting Talya Brugler whose layup put the Hawks ahead 63 – 60. Still, the Explorers stayed within striking distance. After the teams traded turnovers, Jekot gave control of the game to SJU driving for a layup as just over 20 seconds showed on the clock to make it a 65 – 62 game.
La Salle closed the deficit to to single digit at the 13 second mark. They called timeout to set up the final defensive segment. They aggressively overplayed the Hawks. But made a mistake by not protecting the basket. Jekot fed Brugler whose layup with 11 seconds remaining sealed the game.
What the Numbers Said
For the Hawks Brugler scored a game-high 20 points, her seventh straight game of double-digit scoring. Jekot assisted 11 times for a season-high, and was one shy of her career-best. Emma Boslet set a collegiate-best with 11 points.
The Explorers got 17 points from Claire Jacobs and 14 from her sister Mia, two under her career-best. Jaye Haynes added 13 points.
Sisterly Game
There were two Jekot sisters, Katie and Julie who plays for La Salle. The Explorers have the three Jacobs sisters; Claire, Mia, and Amy on their squad.
Women’s Big Five This Season
Villanova wins the Big Five outright winning all four of the games, their 19th city series title. Saint Joseph’s posted a 3 – 1 record to finish second. Penn was third at 2 – 2. Temple had a 1 – 3 mark and La Salle did not win a city series game.
La Salle and Saint Joseph’s will meet again on January 18th on Hawk Hill in an Atlantic 10 game.
In Memorial
The Explorers played without guard Molly Masciantonio. Her mother, Sue, passed away very recently. La Salle observed a moment of silence prior to the game, and the team wore purple scrunchies in her memory.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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